60NYT > Findingstopics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/columns/findings/index.html?s=closestA collection of Findings columns published in The New York Times.Copyright 2014 The New York Times Companyen-usSun 02 Aug 2015 18:44:18 -0400http://static01.nyt.com/images/section/NytSectionHeader.gifNYThttp://www.nytimes.comA Meditation on the Art of Not Trying http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/a-meditation-on-the-art-of-not-trying.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/a-meditation-on-the-art-of-not-trying.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/12/16/science/16TIER/16TIER-thumbStandard.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>When you&#8217;re nervous, how can you be yourself? How you can force yourself to relax? How can you try not to try? It makes no sense, but the paradox may be essential to civilization.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 16 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0500http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/a-meditation-on-the-art-of-not-trying.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssCan a Playground Be Too Safe?http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/07/19/science/19TIER/19TIER-thumbStandard.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>Efforts to regulate playground equipment to prevent injuries may stunt emotional development, a new study suggests.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssDo You Have Free Will? Yes, It’s the Only Choicehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/science/22tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/science/22tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/03/22/science/22tierney/22tierney-thumbStandard.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>People pragmatically intuit that regardless of whether free will exists, our society depends on everyone’s believing it does.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/science/22tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssHeavy Doses of DNA Data, With Few Side Effectshttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/01/18/18tierney/18tierney-thumbStandard.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>Most people say they’ll pay for genetic tests even if the predictions are sometimes wrong, and most people don’t seem to be traumatized even when they receive bad news.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssFor Decades, Puzzling People With Mathematicshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/20tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/20tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2009/10/20/science/tier.7575.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>Martin Gardner is the world’s best-known recreational mathematician, and has probably introduced more people to the joys of math than anyone in history.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/20tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssOur Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couchhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/science/14tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/science/14tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2007/08/13/science/tier_7575.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>If you accept one pretty reasonable assumption, it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else’s computer simulation.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/science/14tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssAt Trial, Pain Has a Witnesshttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2007/04/23/science/24findings.751.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"/></a>William E. Hurwitz spent more than two days on the witness stand telling a jury why he had prescribed painkillers to patients who turned out to be drug dealers and addicts.By JOHN TIERNEYTue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/science/24tier.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss